Release mechanism



May 10, 1960 w. B. MCLEAN 2,935,950 7 RELEASE MECHANISM Filed May 13, 1944 WILLIAM B. MGLEAN AORNEY 910 4 2 I3 Fl6.l'

United St T 2,935,950 RELEASE MECHANISM William B. McLeanywashington, l).C.,- assignor to the United States of America as represented by the Secre tary of the Navy "Application'May 13,1944,'SerialNo. 535,527

6 Claims. Cl. 102-701 7 (Granted under Title :35, 'U.S.'C0de (1952), sec. 266) .simple construction,adapted to prevent the rotor from turning until after setback and which cannot be released by accelerations of short duration.

Another object is to provide agenera'tor lock which, when released, is positively secured in such manner that it cannot again interfere 'with'rotation of the generator rotor.

"F65. Pe 9 Patented May 10, 1960,

such as to screw sleeve 10 down on the sleevesi'j The momentum of the nut assembly 9, 10, iniconjufnction with reverse acceleration, is sutficient to insure that arms 9 will be carried below the ends of pins 8. R otor l is thus left free to revolve under the influence of its drivingmeans.

When the setback ceases, arms 1 2 remain fastened their depressed, releasing position, being'held securely against the pressure of spring 14 by'means ofthe nut assembly 9, 10. I I

It is, of course, essential that setback endure art sufficient period to let the propeller turn enough 'revol u- Spin m l o below the pins 8.; Itjhajs been 1 foundthat this action is easily attainable with projectiles and generatordrivingmeans of known varieties. Y

The generator is therefore positively locked until 'the projectile is. fired, andreleased with equal positiveness 4 upon firing. V A 1 4 The invention herein described may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes without the. payment of'any royalties thereon or therefor.

1 claim: I I v 1."An electrical generator having rotor "and stator means adapted for installation in a projectile or thelike,

set-back releasable locking "means for said rotor includ- Other objects will be apparentupon consideration of p 'the 'presentdisclosure in its entirety.

In the drawings: Fig. 1 is a' part-sectional diametric elevational view of a generator and a housing therefor, showin'g'my im-' proved setback-operated mechanism-in locked position. Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig.1 but showing the locking mechanism released.

Fig. 3 is a cross section taken substantially on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1, and looking in the direction of the arrows.

. Referring now to the drawings, rotor l'is fastened to shaft 2, which may be driven by any suitable means (not shown but which may comprise a wind-driven impeller). Field coils 3, shown diagrammatically, are mounted in casing 6 in operative relationship to the rotor. Shaft 2 rotates in bearings 4 and 5 fixed in casing 6. Disc 7 is screwed or otherwise fastened to the lower face of rotor 1, and carries pins 8 positioned as best shown in plan in Fig. 3. Pins 8 normally extend downwardly beside arms 9, 12. Arms 9 are integral with a tapped cylindrical hub 10, threaded upon the axial bushing 5 upstanding from the bottom of the casing andwhich forms the lower bearing for the rotor. An additional. hub 11is downwardly slidable on the outside surface of hub 10 and carries arms 12 which normally block pins 8 and therefore prevent rotor 1 from being turned. Arms 12 are vertically slidable between and prevented from rotating byposts 13 fixed to the bottom of casing 6. Compression spring 14 urges the arm and hub assembly 11, 12 upwardly.

. It will be understood that the generator and its release mechanism are installed in the projectile or other vehicle with the axis of shaft 2 parallel to the line of I. set-back, compressing spring 14. This action brings locking arms 12 below pins 8 which are then rapidly revolved with rotor 1 by the driving means (unshown) attached to shaft 2. The direction of such rotation is ing a detent normally in operative blocking engagement with said rotorbut movable away from" such engagement under the influence of set back, spring means forv urging said detent in such operative blockingengagement, means for holding [said detent out of such' blocking engagement, and means for rotating said rotor rela'tive to said stator substantially immediately upon release of said rotor by said releasable locking means.

2. An electrical generator having rotor and stator means adapted for installation in a projectile or the like, set-back releasable locking means for said rotor including a detent normally in operative blocking engagement v with said rotor but movable away from such engagement under the influence of set-back, means for holding said detent out of such blocking engagement, said electrical generator being adapted for installation in a projectile with the axis of rotation of the rotor substantially parallel to the line of flight of the projectile, said locking means including a spring-held mass movable rearwardly with respect to the direction of flight during set-back, and said holding means including a hold-down nut actuatable by the rotor. I

3. An electrical generator having rotor and stator means adapted for installation in a projectile or the like, setback releasable locking means for said rotor including a detent normally in operative blocking engagement with said rotor but movable away from such engagement under the. influence of set-back, means for holding said detent out of such blocking engagement, said generator including a shaft supporting said rotor concentric with said stator means, the said stator means being adapted for installation in a projectile with the shaft substantially parallel to the line of flight of the projectile, said detent including a mass mounted concentrically with respect to and movable longitudinally of the shaft, spring means surrounding the shaft and urging said mass toward the rotor, and interengageable abutment portions carried by 1 said rotor and mass and separable when said detent moves detent normally in operative blocking engagement with said rotor but movable away from such engagement under the influence of set-back, means for holding said detent out of such blocking engagement, said generator including a shaft supporting said rotor concentric with said stator means, the said stator means being adapted for installation in a projectile with the shaft substantially parallel to the line of flight of the projectile, said detent including a mass mounted concentrically with respect to and movable longitudinally of the shaft, spring means surrounding the shaft and urging said mass toward the rotor, interengageable abutment portions carried by said rotor and mass and separable when said detent moves away, said holding means including a hold-down nut also surrounding the shaft anddrivable by the rotor, after release of said locking means, to a position in which it prevents reengagement of said abutment portions.v

V 5'. An electrical generator having rotor and stator means adapted for installation in a projectile or the like, setback releasable locking means for said rotor including a detent normally in operative blocking engagement with said rotor but movable away from such engagement under the influence of'set back, means for holding said detent out of such blocking engagement, said generator including a shaft supporting said rotor concentric with said stator means, the said stator means being adapted for installation in a projectile with the shaft substantially parallel to the line of flight of the projectile, said detent including a mass mounted concentrically with respect to and movable longitudinally of the shaft, spring means surrounding the shaft and urging said mass toward the rotor, interengageable abutment portions carried by said rotor and mass and separable when said detent moves away, said holding means including a hold-down nut also surrounding said shaft and drivable by the rotor, after release of said locking means, to a position in which it prevents reengagement of said abutment portions, said nut being arranged between the mass and the rotor and 4 f being of sufficient mass to coast to and hold the mass in a position in which said abutment portions are clear of one another.

6. An electrical generator having rotor and stator means adapted for installation in a projectile or the like, setback releasable locking means for said rotor including a detent normally in operative blocking engagement with said rotor but movable away from such engagement under the influence of set-back, means for holding said detent out of such blocking engagement, said generator including a shaft supporting said rotor concentric with said stator means, the said stator means being adapted for installation in a projectile with the shaft substantially parallel to the line of flight of the projectile, said detent including a mass mounted concentrically with respect to and movable longitudinally of the shaft, spring means surrounding the shaft and urging said mass toward the rotor, pins projecting longitudinally from the rotor and into driving engagement with said mass, said holding means including a hold-down nut also surrounding said shaft and engageable with and adapted to be driven by said pins, said nut being movable by said pins to a position in which .it prevents reengagement of said mass with the pins. 1 V 7 References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 865,732 Vandervell et al. Sept. 10, 1907 984,607 Von Risch Feb. 21, 1911 1,568,527 Pearson Jan. 5, 1926 2,192,542 Benedetti Mar. 5, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS 6,757 Great Britain Mar. 13, 1913 

